The Lsu Tigers escaped today with a 38-24 win over conference rival Mississippi State. LSU got out to an early lead on the legs of running back Richard Murphy, who had over 160 yards rushing on the day.
LSU was able to force a 3 and out on the Bulldogs first possession. They rode Murphy all the way to the endzone as he carried 5 times for 31 yards on the first drive for LSU, including a 3 yard slash over the left tackle to get the Tigers in the endzone. Murphy ended up being hard to bring down all game long on a day he carried 27 times for 163 yards, with an amazing 56 yards coming after first contact.
Early in the second quarter LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson carried on an option play to the left side and took a hard shot to his left knee and left the game. Erin Andrews reported that the quarterback could be out for as many as 5 weeks with a knee bruise and swelling. That wasn’t the end of the injury woes for LSU quarterbacks as later in the second quarter Russell Shepard was blown up and hurt his shoulder. He would only miss a quarter however and played exceptionally after his return.
With 2:55 left in the second quarter Jarrett Lee, in for Russell Shepard at quarterback tossed an interception which was returned 75 yards for a score by Bulldog linebacker K.J. Wright. Wright’s TD put the Bulldogs up 21 to 14, and it seemed to wake the Tigers up. Shepard returned from his shoulder problems on the next drive and led the Tigers downfield for a score. The quarterback went 3-3 on the drive with completions to Reuben Randle, Terrence Tolliver, and finally Tim Molton for 69 yards on the drive, which was capped by an amazing throw.
Shepard was forced out of the pocket to his right, and found Molton running free on a crossing route. He hit Molton in stride, who turned it upfield and outran the Bulldog defense for a 41 yard TD. Derek Helton then missed the extra point to leave the Dogs with a 1 point lead. With LSU down by one the Bulldogs got back on the field for their last drive of the first half and went a quick 3 and out.
LSU took over with 1:20 left on the clock and again let Shepard lead them dowfield with his arm. He hit tight end DeAngelo Peterson on the first two plays of the drive for 12 yards and 18 yards. The Tigers moved downfield, and after converting a 4th down to get themselves into field goal range settled for a FG with :4 seconds left in the half to take a 2 point lead into half time.
The Tigers were able to pull away in the 3rd quarter with touchdown passes from Shepard to DeAngelo Peterson, and also to Terrence Tolliver. The 18 yard rocket from Shepard put the Tigers up 38-21 and. The Bulldogs only threatened one more time taking the ball all the way to the Tiger 21 before consecutive sacks by the LSU defense pushed them back and they had to settle for a 47 yard FG which capped the scoring on the day.
Coach Bulgy said he was excited to get his first win at home against the Bulldogs but wished his players had played better. “I knew coming in that it would take awhile to get the players acclimated to my system, but they performed well today. I think the defense could have and should have played a little better.” Coach Bulgy questioned the tackling by his defense, and said that when they play some of their more powerful conference rivals the tackling has to be better or they will get beat. When asked about his rush defense Coach Bulgy said, “We held them to 24 yards on 26 carries so we did what we needed to do to stop the running plays but they tore us up through the air.” Mississippi State’s true sophomore quarterback finished 22-35 for 285 yards passing, with 2 TD’s and no picks.
While the defense didn’t play as well as they could have the offense lit up the Bulldogs for 502 yards of offense in a very balanced attack. The Tigers had 238 yards rushing and another 264 yards passing to out gain the visitor’s by almost 200 yards. Coach Bulgy said that if the offense can stay this balanced against some of their other more high profile opponents the opposing defenses will have a tough time stopping them, but defense wins the ball game. He knows they must get better defending the pass in order to have a chance at the National Title Game.

Congrats on your first win in the Rivalry. LSU still looks stout and a big favorite for the SEC Title for a second year in a row. Dont sleep on Bama though, they got back to winning football this week...

Nashville, TN -The LSU tigers notched a second consecutive SEC win as they ran through VanderbiltÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¦ literally. The Tigers embarassed the Commodores 48-17.

The LSU offense had 2 different running backs gain 100 yards on Saturday as the offense racked up 543 yards of total offense, and 399 yards rushing. For the second week in a row the Tigers new offense has allowed a player to rack up over 160 yards rushing. Last week Senior Richard Murphy, went for a seemingly large 163 yards. This week his redshirt freshman counterpart one upped him and showed LSU may have their next star waiting in the wings, by going for a career high 230 yards, coupled with 5 touchdowns, also a career high.

Mike Ford scored from 9, 18, and 23 yards in the first half and added a 3 yarder and a 39 yarder in the second half. Ford said he already told his mentor in the backfield that a new sheriff was in town, ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œI was jokingÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â he says. ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œ[Richard Murphy] He just told me that the only reason I got to get so many yards was because coach couldnÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢t take me out cause I am second string.ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â All kidding aside all parties know who the starter is for the rest of the season. Coach Bulgy was asked if he was worried about a potential quandary in practice this week, ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œAbsolutely not, Murphy is our starter, he does so many thing better than Ford does at this point in their careers. He is better at blitz pick-up and is someone you know is going to be able to tote the rock for you late in close ball games.ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â He followed that with however a promise to get the younger player some more touches. As explosive as Ford was on Saturday there is no question about it.

The Tiger defense was improved this week against the pass, but slipped in the run defense. Last week the Tigers yielded only 26 yards on the ground, but they gave up 110 to the Commodores. With the #4 ranked running attack of the Florida GatorÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s looming next week the Tiger defense needs to improve a ton this week. The Tiger defense which has yet to force a turnover must also be proactive next week to take the ball from FloridaÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s ball carriers. The new coaching staff acknowledged they were trying to cram a lot of defensive terminology, and new packages at the players this week, and almost recognized that they overlooked Vanderbilt somewhat. ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œWe wanted to be able to scheme next week against Florida and not still be on fundamentals, so we overburdened our guys this week so hopefully next week theyÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢ll be ready to play without thinking.ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â Barkevious Mingo made a bid for more playing time by leading the defense with 9 tackles, and several times reminded fans of why the previous administration always spoke about the vicious licks he was capable of. Mingo spread his tackles out on Saturday making tackles on a punt, several kickoffs, and also in garbage time in the second half. For a defense that ended the day with more questions than they began with, there was at least a bright spot for this game and for the future as well.

Sophomore quarterback Russell Shepard, making his first start in place of injured star Jordan Jefferson, turned in a solid day managing the passing game. Shepard threw for 144 yards on 14-21 passing and threw in 30 more yards on the ground. The offensive line was able to prevent a sack by the Commodores. For the second week in a row tight end DeAngelo Peterson was targeted often, he hauled in 4 passes and gained 60 yards on the day. Mike Ford starred for 230 yards on 21 carries and the All-American, Richard Murphy, turned in a solid game for the Tigers on offense. Both players credited their offensive line for the yards they were able to gain. They were able to both carry 21 times which is a total the coaches liked for both players. ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œObviously there will be some games we wonÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢t be able to run the ball 52 times, and we wonÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢t be able to get a huge amount of carries for both guys, and we all saw this week that we need to get Mike Ford to touch the ball some more.ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â Coach Bulgy said a balance of ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œ70 to 30% split for Murphy is where weÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢d like to be as far as the running game goes, but Mike is still one of our return guys so he will get some touches there as well.ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â

The TigerÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s had a very eventful Saturday. They found out the defense may have some questions, they found out they should be just fine with a younger quarterback, and they also found they have a new home run threat. The TigerÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s will take Sunday off, before practice gets up and going again on Monday. All eyes have now moved to the Florida Gators, who will host the TigerÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s next week in a Nationally Televised Primetime game.
Coach Bulgy said, ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œWe know they are going to be a tough team to get past, they have a lot of talent, maybe the most talent in the conference. We will have to be ready.ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â The playerÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s have already assured the coaches they will be ready, tailback Richard Murphy said, ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œWe know they would like nothing more than to knock us off, and ruin our season, but we are going to work real hard this week to make sure that doesnÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢t happen.ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â

Saturday will be the middle game of a tough 3 game road skid that includes stops in Nashville, Gainesville and a trip to the Plains to take on Auburn. Quarterback Jordan Jefferson should be able to make a comeback the week during the second of LSU back to back bye weeks.

Russell Shepard will have two more games to make an impression on the coaches. Coach Bulgy said he would be open to changing quarterbacks if one of the players is able to separate from the other. The coaching staff has said they will give Shepard every opportunity over the next few weeks. He along with the rest of the TigerÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s better get ready because next week the chants of ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œTiger Bait!ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â could very easily be ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œGator Bait!ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â

Gainesville, FL -The LSU Tigers came from behind to stop the Florida Gators upset bid. The offense took over in the second half by scoring 21 points. On the way the Tigers rolled up 529 yards of offense behind Russell ShepardÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s arm and Mike FordÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s legs.

The TigerÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s trailed at halftime 17-14. The second quarter was very exciting from the 1:19 mark on. The TigerÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s took over leading 14-10. Shepard hit Rueben Randle on the first 2 plays of the drive to quickly move the TigerÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s 46 yards. On the third play of the drive Shepard hit Markihe Anderson square in the numbers. Anderson returned the errant pass 57 yards to the Florida 13. Jordan Reed promptly hit Deonte Thompson for a TD. LSU took over with 36 seconds on the clock. Shepard hit Terrance Toliver for a 16 yard gain, but a facemask penalty moved the Tigers all the way to the 17 yard line. Shepard quickly spiked the ball, and left :6 on the clock for LSU kicker Derek Helton to attempt a 34 yard field goal to tie the game. Helton missed the kick and the TigerÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s went into halftime dejected. The defense and offense played better in the second half and outscored the GatorÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s 21-3.

In his first career start Shepard threw for 305 yards and 2 TD's on 22-33 passing. He also had 51 yards on the ground. It wasnÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢t perfect for the sophomore QB as he threw 2 passes to the Florida Gators. He had TD passes to fellow sophomore Tim Molton and Mike Ford. Shepard showed the potential the coaches saw when he joined the Tigers from Houston, TX by threading the needle between a LB and a CB on his 11 yard first quarter strike to Molton. He also used his legs in the option game to help the running backs get going. The box score will show that Mike Ford scampered 72 yards for a TD but it was set up by ShepardÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s pitch on the option. On that play Shepard sucked the free safety Will Hill to him and just before contact made a gorgeous pitch to Ford who saw nothing but green in front of him. Ford then made two beautiful moves on the sideline to make Florida defenderÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s miss on his way to the endzone. That score put the TigerÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s up 28-17 and put the game out of the GatorÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s reach.

Mike Ford showed that his 260 yard effort in last weekÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s game against Vandy was no fluke by going for 102 yards on 14 carries with a TD and also getting involved in the passing game where he picked up another TD to go with 40 yards receiving. Fr. (RS) Rueben Randle led the Tiger receiver with 6 catches for 116 yards but wasnÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢t able to catch a TD pass.

The Tiger defense lived up to its own high expectations this week by holding the Florida rushing attack to 21 yards on 22 carries, and they managed to sack John Brantley and Jordan Reed 6 times. Sr. (RS) Pep Livingston also broke the school record for career sacks when he picked up his second sack of the day late in the 2nd quarter. They were helped out by a minor injury to Brantley which kept him out of the game from the second quarter until late in the final frame.

Coach Bulgy was happy to get out of Gainesville with a win. He said he knows it is a tough place to get a win especially against a team desperately trying to get its season on the right track. The TigerÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s travel to Auburn next week for a battle against the Auburn Tigers; that game will mark the end of a brutal 3 game road trip that has included stops in Nashville and Gainesville. If the TigerÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s get through unscathed they will be on a collision course with Alabama back in Baton Rouge after taking a two week break to prepare for the Crimson Tide. The GatorÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s fall to 4-3 overall and 1-3 in conference. The win puts LSU in first place in the SEC West and means the game against Alabama may send the winner to the SEC title game.

Jordan Jefferson is supposed to be able to make his return to game action that week, but the coaches have stated that if he is unable to go through a full week of practice he probably will not start.

Auburn, AL -The LSU Tigers stormed into Auburn this Saturday and took down the Auburn Tigers hard. The offense rolled up 442 yards of offense including 273 yards rushing, while the LSU defense held the Auburn offense to 88 yards of total offense. The LSU defense was dominant against the run all day long as they held AuburnÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s running backs to (-17) yards rushing on 27 attempts.

The Auburn Tigers took the opening kick-off and stormed down the field. On 3rd and 10 from the LSU 29 yard line Senior QB Kodi Burns threw an interception to Freshman MLB Loren Hall, BurnsÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢ first of 3 interceptions on the day.

LSU used a nice running game to move the ball down the field and capped the drive with a 12 yard run by Mike Ford to take a 7-0 lead. The teams traded punts until the 1:29 mark of the first quarter when LSU mounted a strong drive behind Russell ShepardÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s arm and legs to get in the endzone a second time, and end the first quarter with a 2 TD lead. Most of the rest of the day went that way with Auburn punting after 3 and outs and LSU taking the ball downfield with the run game.

LSU did have a very nice play through the air. On the first offensive play of the second half Coach Bulgy dialed up a play-action pass that had All-American WR Terrance Toliver going deep. Shepard spotted the single coverage and dropped in a beautiful long ball for a 65 yard touchdown. That play really deflated the Auburn team.

LSU dominated time of possession and held the ball for 20:17 in the game to AuburnÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s 10:20. The LSU defense forced 4 turnovers the 3 Burns picks and a fumble by Mario Fannin en route to a dominating day. They held AuburnÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s impact RB to 42 yards on 15 carries, and made Kodi Burns pass to beat them. When Burns wasnÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢t throwing an incomplete pass he was probably being dragged down behind the line of scrimmage. The LSU defense was able to sack him 8 times on the day. Even when he wasnÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢t being sacked the QB for the Tigers was forced to throw under duress. Coach Bulgy said he couldnÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢t be more impressed with the way his defense played, and that he hopes the two week layoff headed their way doesnÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢t break up a hot streak.

The TigerÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s are off this week and the next before their rival and division opponent Alabama comes to town. The game between the TigerÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s and Tide could send the winner to Atlanta for the SEC title game. LSU now sits at 6-1 overall and 4-0 in conference.

Coach Bulgy said he wants his players to rest some this week, and will get back to basics. ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œWe have 2 weeks to prepare for Bama, and we need to shore up some issues we have been having. I saw too many missed tackles today, and we will work on that in practice this week and next for sure.ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â